Main lobby at Shilla Seoul (Shilla Seoul)
Main lobby at Shilla Seoul (Shilla Seoul)

Shilla Seoul, a luxury hotel in central Seoul that recently canceled some wedding reservations in November to support a national event, will fully cover wedding expenses for the affected couples, according to news reports Wednesday.

Hotel Shilla recently informed some couples who booked wedding halls for early November that their reservations were canceled and would need to be rescheduled, describing it as “an unavoidable decision” made at the government’s request to host a state event.

The hotel contends that its contracts stipulated reservations could be canceled for reasons related to state affairs.

The abrupt rescheduling has left many couples frustrated, as wedding reservations at a high-end hotel like Shilla Seoul are typically made one to two years in advance, with related plans such as photo shoots and honeymoons arranged around the date.

One bride-to-be, notified of the cancellation with just 50 days remaining before her wedding, wrote on social media, “I’ve already sent invitations to all the guests. I’m in total panic.”

As compensation, the hotel has pledged to allow couples to choose new wedding dates and to cover all costs, including venue, catering and floral arrangements.

The cancellations roughly coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which wraps up Nov. 1 and is set to bring together global leaders including US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. There is growing speculation that Xi may stay at Shilla Seoul during the summit.

Meanwhile, Shilla Seoul traces its roots to 1973, when Samsung Group converted a state guesthouse, originally built to host overseas envoys, into a hotel. The current 23-story building opened in 1979.

Due to its history as a state guesthouse, state functions have generally taken precedence over guests at the hotel, industry sources said.


cjh@heraldcorp.com